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Onondaga County sewer fees could climb 10 percent in 2014 -- and keep climbing for years

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Work continues on Onondaga CountyÃ¢ÂÂs 6-million-gallon storage tank near Armory Square to hold storm water until it is transferred to the water treatment plant near Onondaga Lake. Sewer rates in the county might rise by 10 percent next year in part to pay for the storage tank project.
(Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Better not spend that $5 you might save in property taxes next year under the proposed Onondaga County budget: You might be paying $36 more in sewer fees.

Under County Executive Joanie Mahoney's 2014 budget proposal released Friday, sewer rates would rise by 10 percent - the biggest bump since at least 2006.

Get used to it, county officials say: Rates will keep rising to pay the looming costs of the cleanup of Onondaga Lake, upgrades to treatment plants and replacement of old sewer pipes.

"We have some big bills coming due," said Deputy County Executive Matt Millea. "We are in need of sustained sewer increases for the foreseeable future."

The sewer fee for a single-family household would rise from $363 to $399. Since 2007, that fee has climbed by 33 percent.

Next year's increase will start paying for two large underground storage tanks that will hold rainwater during storms, Millea said. The 6-million-gallon tank near Armory Square and the 5-million-gallon tank on State Fair Boulevard will cost a combined $109 million, he said.

The first $2 million in payments on those bonds come due in 2014.

"We're putting the Legislature on notice that we've taken on quite a bit of debt to put these projects in the ground and we have to start paying back those bonds," he said.

The county is under court order to reduce the amount of polluted runoff getting into Onondaga Lake during heavy storms. The two storage tanks are part of the county's Save the Rain program, which is aimed in part at preventing sewer overflows.

Legislator Michael Plochocki, chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee, said the county also has to replace aging pipes laid as long as 100 years ago.

Sewer rates will keep rising, he said.

"It's the nature of the beast with the massive amount of infrastructure work that needs to be done," said Plochocki, R-Marcellus. "Unfortunately, I see rates only going up -- not just now but for years to come."

Mahoney's budget would cut the county property tax rate by about 1 percent - about $5 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home.

County legislators said they were pleased with Mahoney's overall budget proposal.

"I think the budget as proposed is a good starting point," said Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon, R-Syracuse. "We'll analyze the various spending items in all the departments and try to see if there are areas we feel need to be cut or areas we feel need to be prioritized at a higher rate."

Ways and Means Chairman David Knapp, R-LaFayette, said Mahoney's proposal was solid. Any cuts by the Legislature, Knapp said, would be "with a scalpel, not a hatchet."